With the MLB All-Star Game marking the unofficial halfway point of the sports calendar, here is a look at the fifty most-viewed sporting events of the year thus far.
As is typical, the NFL leads the list.The twelve most-viewed sporting events of the year were all NFL games, with the Super Bowl topping the list with a U.S. television record 111.346 million viewers.
Even two regular season games on New Year’s Day drew more viewers than any non-NFL event on the list.
Among the non-NFL programs, January’s Alabama/LSU BCS National Championship Game ranks thirteenth on the list, with an audience of 24.214 million viewers on ESPN.
Not far behind, the Kentucky/Kansas NCAA Tournament title game ranks fifteenth (20.869M), and the clinching game of the Heat/Thunder NBA Finals ranks seventeenth (18.416M).
Further down the list, the race portion of the Kentucky Derby ranks 24th (14.8M), the twice-postponed Daytona 500 ranks 27th (13.669M), and the final round of The Masters ranks 28th (13.487M).
50 Most-Viewed Sporting Events of 2012
Through Tuesday
* CBS/Turner Sports generally did not provide combined ratings and viewership for NCAA Tournament telecast windows this year. As a result, individual NCAA Tournament telecasts are listed.
| # | Date | League | Event | Net | Rating | Viewers (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun., 2/5/12 | NFL | Super Bowl: Giants/Patriots | NBC |
47.0
|
111,346
|
| 2 | Sun., 1/22/12 | NFL | NFC Champ.: Giants/49ers | FOX |
30.6
|
57,635
|
| 3 | Sun., 1/22/12 | NFL | AFC Champ.: Ravens/Patriots | CBS |
27.4
|
48,676
|
| 4 | Sun., 1/15/12 | NFL | NFC Divisional: Giants/Packers | FOX |
25.3
|
45,120
|
| 5 | Sun., 1/8/12 | NFL | AFC Wild Card: Steelers/Broncos | CBS |
24.0
|
42,371
|
| 6 | Sat., 1/14/12 | NFL | NFC Divisional: Saints/49ers | FOX |
20.5
|
35,601
|
| 7 | Sat., 1/14/12 | NFL | AFC Divisional: Broncos/Patriots | CBS |
18.5
|
34,161
|
| 8 | Sat., 1/7/12 | NFL | NFC Wild Card: Lions/Saints | NBC |
18.2
|
31,780
|
| 9 | Sun., 1/15/12 | NFL | AFC Divisional: Texans/Ravens | CBS |
19.0
|
30,963
|
| 10 | Sun., 1/8/12 | NFL | NFC Wild Card: Falcons/Giants | FOX |
17.3
|
27,735
|
| 11 | Sun., 1/1/12 | NFL | Reg. Season: Cowboys/Giants | NBC |
15.7
|
27,624
|
| 12 | Sun., 1/1/12 | NFL | Reg. Season: Regional | CBS |
15.1
|
27,004
|
| 13 | Mon., 1/9/12 | NCAAF | BCS Champ.: Alabama/LSU | ESPN |
14.0
|
24,214
|
| 14 | Sat., 1/7/12 | NFL | AFC Wild Card: Bengals/Texans | NBC |
13.5
|
21,893
|
| 15 | Mon., 4/3/12 | NCAAB | Final Four: Kentucky/Kansas | CBS |
12.3
|
20,869
|
| 16 | Sun., 1/1/12 | NFL | Reg. Season: Regional | FOX |
11.6
|
19,596
|
| 17 | Thu., 6/21/12 | NBA | Finals: Thunder/Heat Game 5 | ABC |
10.9
|
18,416
|
| 18 | Mon., 1/2/12 | NCAAF | Rose Bowl: Oregon/Wisconsin | ESPN |
10.2
|
17,558
|
| 19 | Tue., 6/19/12 | NBA | Finals: Thunder/Heat Game 4 | ABC |
10.5
|
17,455
|
| 20 | Thu., 6/14/12 | NBA | Finals: Heat/Thunder Game 2 | ABC |
10.4
|
16,670
|
| 21 | Sat., 3/31/12 | NCAAB | Final Four: Kansas/Ohio State | CBS |
9.6
|
16,603
|
| 22 | Tue., 6/12/12 | NBA | Finals: Heat/Thunder Game 1 | ABC |
9.9
|
16,195
|
| 23 | Sun., 6/17/12 | NBA | Finals Thunder/Heat Game 3 | ABC |
8.8
|
15,549
|
| 24 | Sat., 5/5/12 | Horse | Kentucky Derby (race portion) | NBC |
9.0
|
14,800
|
| 25 | Sat., 3/31/12 | NCAAB | Final Four: Kentucky/Louisville | CBS |
8.4
|
13,908
|
| 26 | Mon., 1/2/12 | NCAAF | Fiesta Bowl: Okla. St./Stanford | ESPN |
8.4
|
13,684
|
| 27 | Mon., 2/27/12 | NASCAR | Sprint Cup: Daytona 500 | FOX |
8.0
|
13,669
|
| 28 | Sun., 4/8/12 | Golf (M) | The Masters, final round | CBS |
8.0
|
13,487
|
| 29 | Sat., 6/9/12 | NBA | ECF: Celtics/Heat Game 7 | ESPN |
7.7
|
13,346
|
| 30 | Sun., 1/1/12 | NFL | Reg. Season: Regional | CBS |
8.1
|
13,331
|
| 31 | Sun., 1/29/12 | NFL | Pro Bowl | NBC |
7.3
|
12,498
|
| 32 | Sun., 3/25/12 | NCAAB | Elite Eight: Kansas/UNC | CBS |
7.1
|
11,683
|
| T33 | Thu., 6/7/12 | NBA | ECF: Heat/Celtics Game 6 | ESPN |
6.8
|
11,068
|
| T33 | Sun., 6/3/12 | NBA | ECF: Heat/Celtics Game 4 | ESPN |
6.8
|
11,068
|
| 35 | Sat., 3/24/12 | NCAAB | Elite Eight: Ohio State/Syracuse | CBS |
6.7
|
10,949
|
| 36 | Tue., 7/10/12 | MLB | MLB All-Star Game | FOX |
6.8
|
10,900
|
| 37 | Tue., 6/5/12 | NBA | ECF: Celtics/Heat Game 5 | ESPN |
6.3
|
10,251
|
| 38 | Sun., 7/1/12 | Olympics | U.S. Olympic Trials (Gymnastics) | NBC |
5.9
|
10,021
|
| 39 | Sun., 6/17/12 | Golf (M) | U.S. Open, Final Round | NBC |
6.0
|
9,633
|
| 40 | Tue., 1/3/12 | NCAAF | Sugar Bowl: Michigan/Va. Tech | ESPN |
6.1
|
9,572
|
| 41 | Wed., 6/6/12 | NBA | WCF: Spurs/Thunder Game 6 | TNT |
6.0
|
9,498
|
| 42 | Sun., 3/4/12 | NASCAR | Sprint Cup: Subway Fresh Fit 500 (Phoenix) | FOX |
5.6
|
9,230
|
| 43 | Mon., 5/28/12 | NBA | ECF: Celtics/Heat Game 1 | ESPN |
5.6
|
8,989
|
| 44 | Wed., 5/30/12 | NBA | ECF: Celtics/Heat Game 2 | ESPN |
5.7
|
8,809
|
| 45 | Sun., 3/18/12 | NCAAB | Third Round: UNC/Creighton | CBS |
5.7
|
8,799
|
| 46 | Fri., 3/23/12 | NCAAB | Sweet Sixteen: Kentucky/Indiana | CBS |
5.2
|
8,702
|
| 47 | Sun., 3/11/12 | NASCAR | Sprint Cup: Kobalt Tools 500 (Las Vegas) | FOX |
5.2
|
8,528
|
| 48 | Mon., 6/4/12 | NBA | WCF: Thunder/Spurs Game 5 | TNT |
5.5
|
8,507
|
| 49 | Fri., 1/6/12 | NCAAF | Cotton Bowl: Arkansas/Kansas St. | FOX |
5.0
|
8,363
|
| 50 | Sun., 5/6/12 | NASCAR | Sprint Cup: Aaron’s 499 (Talladega) | FOX |
5.1
|
8,348
|
(Numbers from various sources, including Sports Business Daily, Son of the Bronx, ESPN and Turner Sports)
